8 effective ways to meet in the digital sphere

In times of home office and collaboration in remote teams, online meetings become more and more important. However, many digital encounters are neither fun nor effective. 

Together with my colleagues at J2C, Ines Harbauer and Charlotte Wiedemann, I put together 8 principles to help others to establish a better (online) meeting culture. Our experience of working in decentralized and self-organized teams as entrepreneurs and coaches let us learn a few quick-wins, which we hope will help others in their daily work.

Don't miss out on the fun video at the end of the article and please let us know about your experiences in the comments.

#1 Set a purpose, desired outcome and agenda

Effective collaboration requires a clear common goal. Define the purpose, agenda and desired outcomes before the meeting. Make them transparent. The benefit: everybody is on the same page and knows what to prepare and how to contribute. 

Purpose: Manage expectations, create transparency

#2 Switch on your cameras 

We’re humans. Our brains get stimulated when seeing other human faces. Switch on your video function so people can see your facial expressions and reactions. Makes it so much more fun and leads to fewer misunderstandings. Make sure your sound and camera work before a meeting.

Purpose: Show yourself, be present, use body language and surroundings

#3 Do a Check-in

Each participant gets one minute to talk about their current state of mind as a human being before the meeting officially begins. This can be related to the general mood, family situation, or whatever is important to them at that moment. Your inner weather, your season or your surroundings can be indicators or starter questions.

Psychological safety is a key factor that makes teams effective. Without their physical bodies “speaking to each other” in a meeting room, it is even more important to invest ten minutes to connect on a personal level and reinforce trust from human to human. 

Purpose: Connect on a personal level, build trust

#4 Define Roles

Defined roles help keep the structure and manage expectations. This is important especially when it comes to multinational and culturally diverse teams. With clear roles, the struggle of leading the conversation becomes obsolete. One person can have multiple roles, for as long as there is a mandate given by the participants. 

Roles:

• Time keeper (uses a time timer, keeps the structure)
• Moderator (ensures focus, seeks balance in conversational turn-taking, makes sure that outcomes are generated and decisions are made)
• Technical admin (makes sure the call is online on time, provides technical access for team members, problem solver)  
• Note taker: Documents key statements and decisions
• Optional - energy keeper: Keep an eye on energy flow and suggest breaks to take a deep breath :)

Purpose: structure, focus, inclusion

#5 Cultivate decision meetings

The purpose of a meeting is to accomplish a valuable, ‘real’ outcome. The goal is reached when decisions are taken or next steps are defined. Just “talking about it” doesn't count. Consent decision-making allows for a (facilitated) group process to reach a certain decision. Instead of granting each member the power to mold a proposal in pursuit of a compromise, consent urges the group to accept the best possible solution. Present proposals, briefly answer clarifying questions, invite concerns, and consider information and knowledge revealed at the meeting to further evolve new proposals or existing agreements. Proposals become agreements when they are considered “good enough for now and safe enough to try”, until the next review. Objections prevent proposals from becoming agreements. Withholding objections can harm the objectives of a team or organization.

Purpose: Invite relevant perspectives, go for the best decision - not for the compromise that pleases all sides, increase commitment for agreements

#6 Enhance the flow

Cultivate an attitude of respect and curiosity towards the others. Most certainly, your team members are part of the team because they are experts in their fields. Benefit from their expertise.

1. Agree to disagree. Different opinions broaden our knowledge about a topic. Different points of view are desired and worth being heard. Listen to them instead of trying to convince others of your personal beliefs.
2. Keep it short and to the point. No need for personal experiences and endless reasoning.
3. Believe in everyone's best intentions. Treat others with empathy and respect.
4. Be brave and go forward. Testing a basic prototype is much better than endless discussions of the perfect plan.
5. If you have a problem with a colleague, a tool or a process, address it in an adequate setting and tone: e.g. a retrospective) 

Purpose: Share relevant information, value-oriented progress, focus on purpose

7. Do a Check-Out

Create a ritual for ending the meeting. Summarize the outcomes of the meeting. Make sure everybody knows what the next steps are. Open the room for questions. Gather input on what participants liked about the meeting and what the team would rather do differently next time. Select at least one item to improve the next meeting. Establishing real-time feedback loops will give your team a boost of continuous improvement.

Purpose: Officially end meetings, continuous learning

8. Each one teach one

Now that you know about these workhacks, give it a go and try them out instead of dozing off in the next inefficient meeting and share your learnings with others! 

As a participant of a meeting as well as in any other situation, you are responsible for your own life and behaviour. If you don't like the current meeting culture of your company, fill the gap and improve it. 

We are curious to hear about what makes your team meetings successful! 

About the author(s)

Johannes Comeau Milke and Ines Harbauer work at J2C - Journey 2 Creation in Berlin. As Agile coaches they support individuals, teams and organizations in cultivating effective and creative ways of working together and to create the environment which enhances a culture of trust, collaboration and innovation.

www.j2c.de